There are very few full-time commercial beekeepers in the UK and this is a good indication of the difficulty of making a reasonable living from keeping bees.

Many beekeepers do not belong to any association and there is no compulsory registration system, so it is difficult to give precise numbers but, of the estimated 20,000 beekeepers in the UK, most have just a few hives.  The Bee Farmers' Association (an organisation catering for the 'serious' beekeeper with at least 40 hives) has only around 300 members - and the great majority of these have only a little over the 40 hives required for membership.

However, beekeeping can provide a useful source of additional income and setting up and managing a medium sized beekeeping operation may be easier for those already engaged in another rural occupation.  Here are some points to consider:

The Market for Honey:

Before producing honey it is essential to establish that you have a market.  In the UK most of the honey that is sold is imported from countries such as China, Argentina, Mexico and Australia.  Production costs are very low in some of these countries and the honey is very cheap - bulk Chinese honey dropped to 22p per lb at one time and there is plenty of bulk honey available at less than 40p per lb.  Clearly, we could not compete with these prices and there is, therefore, a limited market for English honey.  There are three main options:

Sell at the door (or farm gate).  Unless you are on a main road with good signs, sales are likely to be small.  Remember that the 'shop' needs staffing through most of the day unless you are prepared to have a 'Trust' stall..

Sell to local retailers.  Most already have suppliers so it can be difficult to find outlets; even if you do, they tend to take small quantities - say one or two dozen jars at a time - so there is a logistical problem of regular deliveries that are expensive in time and fuel.

Sell in bulk (300kg barrels) e.g. through honey co-operatives.  Good for moving large quantities of honey, but payment may be delayed depending on market conditions causing cash flow problems (you may wait 9 months or more for payment) and you will need ability to handle barrels weighing more than a quarter of a tonne.

Work involved:

The work is seasonal and is highly dependent on weather conditions.  The condition of the colonies and the crops on which they forage is affected not only by the current conditions, but also by the weather during the previous year and especially by the preceding winter.  It is, therefore, impossible to predict the workload very accurately and climate change is likely to make forecasting more difficult, but the following gives a general indication:

The active season usually starts in March when honey supers are added to the hives.

During April, May and June colonies are inspected on a regular basis - normally every 10 days - to control swarming (if colonies swarm honey production is lost), to ensure that the queen is good, that the colony is building as expected, to add additional honey supers, to check for disease and to ensure that they have adequate food.  Any problems must be corrected.  This is also the time for queen rearing and making up new colonies.

The honey crop is normally removed and extracted in June and August, with a further extraction in September if colonies are moved to the heather moors during August.

Colonies are fed and made ready for winter during September and October.

From November to March there is little outdoor work, except for checking the hives for security, pruning trees, tidying up sites, etc., and the beekeeper uses the winter months to repair old equipment and assemble new ready for the coming season.

Education and training:

There are no specific educational requirements, although a rural background and some scientific knowledge, especially biology, would be helpful for beekeeping - as with any other animal husbandry.

A Chartered Institute of Environmental Health Certificate in Basic Hygiene is a good idea for those handling honey.

There is very little formal training available nowadays and most beekeepers learn from other beekeepers, reading books, magazines and now the Internet.  Local beekeepers' associations play a valuable role here and, besides offering contact with other beekeepers and hands-on experience, are usually aware of any training courses that may be appropriate.

Very few beekeepers are able to afford to employ staff and those that do usually only employ casual staff for short periods when there is a high workload, e.g. removing the honey crop.  This tends to be mainly intense manual labour rather than a learning opportunity for the totally inexperienced!

Some Skills needed:

Probably several seasons experience with a reasonable number of colonies.  The quickest way to learn is often to offer to help a local beekeeper.

Stamina - handling bees involves heavy physical work in protective clothing (boilersuit, veil, gloves and wellingtons) during the hottest parts of the year.  It is also necessary to work very long hours at the peak of the season and commercial beekeepers may work 16-hour days at this time.

The ability to withstand bee stings - bees can and do sting regularly and the beekeeper must be able to cope physically and mentally.

Good organisational skills and self-reliance.  Most beekeepers work alone (few people come to talk to you when you are working bees!) often well off-road.

Numerical abilities required to keep financial and production records and the mechanical aptitude required to maintain equipment.

Off-road driving skills, possibly using a trailer.

Investment needed:

A considerable amount of time to learn the craft.

Hives of bees - perhaps £75 each second-hand, more if new.  N.B. It is difficult to find large numbers of  second-hand hives that are in good condition, made to a standard pattern (essential) and disease-free.  Never buy without advice from an experienced beekeeper.

Spare hives - perhaps 1 for every 3 production colonies.

Protective equipment.

Vehicle capable of off-road work.

Trailer (unless vehicle is a large pick-up).

Honey extracting, processing and bottling equipment.  Cost will vary greatly depending upon the availability of good second-hand equipment and the scale of the operation.

Premises for extracting and storing honey (and bottling if you intend to sell in jars).

Premises for storing equipment and a workshop for assembly and repairs.

Potential income:

Well-managed hives in this area should produce probably 50-70lbs of honey a year.

The current bulk retail price of English honey is around £1.20 per lb, so each productive hive could generate perhaps £60-80 gross income.  This would be increased by, perhaps, 50-60% if honey is sold in jars to retail outlets.

Running 60-80 hives as a sideline to a another full-time occupation would be demanding but possible.  It is said that one man could manage around 400 hives working alone and full time in the active season.

Some beekeepers make additional income by selling equipment, royal jelly, pollen, propolis, 'nucleus' colonies of bees and queens (this requires a good breeding programme and can be very labour intensive).

There is also the potential for other income from bee related products, e.g. wax candles, furniture polish, cosmetics made from honey and wax, honey fudge, honey ice-cream.  This is not a large or an easy market to break into and market research is essential before starting production.

To make a basic living from beekeeping alone would require a minimum of 350 hives, preferably more.

How to start:

It is almost impossible to set up a medium-sized operation from scratch in a very short time other than buying a going concern.

It will take most people several seasons with bees in order to learn sufficient about the craft to be able to cope with the work involved, so it is advisable to start with perhaps two hives and then build gradually.  Joining your local beekeeping association is an excellent idea, as it will give you access to considerable knowledge and experience, the ability to work with bees, see other beekeepers' operations and to find out about the local area.  However, most local associations are essentially for small-scale, hobbyist beekeepers and for those wishing to make all or part of their living from bees would do well to join the Bee Farmers Association.

Perhaps the greatest difficulty is finding suitable sites - most sites will only support a maximum of 20-25 colonies throughout the year, so an operation with 200 colonies will require at least 8-10 well-spaced sites that are not too close to any other beekeepers' colonies (local association knowledge is invaluable here).  The best sites are probably already taken by other beekeepers.  Negotiations with landowners take time and it may take years to find enough sites.

Remember that bad weather, pests or diseases can be devastating and could mean little or no crop - and no income.  If this happens, there is no real chance of recovering during the current year due to the very short season and even the following year could be spent rebuilding.  You would need to be able to cope with this financially.

Peter Edwards
31 May 2006